How this Chennai café makes healthy eating feel indulgent

Nungambakkam moves fast and Time Cafe is built entirely against that instinct. The owner, Ahmed Nuh, designed the interiors himself, and the result is calming in a way that planned spaces rarely manage: warm, considered, green plants doing quiet work throughout. Two floors of seating, an in-house menswear brand called Leaf, a Dubai-based abaya brand called Muse, and a small organic mini-mart called Wild Root in the corner. It is a multi-concept space that does not feel cluttered because everything in it comes from the same sensibility.

A peaceful neighbourhood escape championing whole ingredients, balanced flavours and slow, satisfying meals

That sensibility runs directly into the kitchen as well. No maida anywhere in anything. No white sugar in anything at all. Whole wheat for every bread, bun, and cake. Country sugar and honey for every dessert.

The burger bites made for a strong start to the meal. We tried both the chicken and fish variants, and each was satisfying and thoughtfully put together. The wholewheat buns are soft enough that you barely notice the difference, letting the fillings take centre stage.

Lebanese arayes pita followed, grilled whole wheat pita stuffed with spiced minced kofta, onion, garlic, grilled until the outside is properly crisp and the inside fragrant and juicy. A Middle Eastern staple done with real care. Then we tried the Butter garlic prawns. Super jumbo prawns, grilled and drenched in garlic butter, the seafood carrying a natural sweetness the sauce amplifies without overpowering. The butter is velvety, the garlic warm and fragrant rather than sharp, the whole thing savoury and rich.

The Truffe au Chocolat is made without refined sugar or wheat and delivers a proper truffle cake experience: dense, layered, ganache-rich, the cocoa complex and deep rather than just sweet. The Pandan chiffon cake is lighter, airy and subtly grassy with a delicate flavour that reveals itself slowly. Sweetness arrives first, complexity follows. It is the more interesting of the two desserts.

We ended with Moroccan kahwa, Arabica blended with nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, ginger and black pepper, and Golden milk with saffron and turmeric. It had started to rain. Both drinks held us warm before we went back out into the day.

Meal for two: Rs 700++. From 12.30 pm to 11 pm. At Time Cafe, Nungambakkam.

Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya

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